I love time travel the most!

Of course, appearance also plays a small part.

"...This kingdom is finished."

"Lord Lin, what did you say?"

"nothing."

Clem, who had come earlier, did not hear Lin's mutterings clearly. Seeing that the other party was unwilling to say more, he did not press him. Later, the two arrived at the door of the room in the far corner of the palace.

dong dong dong-

"Lady Lana, I've brought Lord Lin with me."

"Please come in."

"—Excuse me."

With permission, Clem turned the doorknob.

As they pushed open the door, a breathtaking scene came into their view.

This is a luxurious yet understated room, devoid of the typical pale pink or pure gold hues, opting instead for a more simple and understated decor. At the intersection of the large, open window and the balcony, there's a rather small white round table, beside which stands Lana, the room's occupant.

The golden-haired girl was enveloped in the sun, radiant and dazzling, as if she were the center of the world.

"We've been waiting for you for a long time, Lord Lin. Please come this way."

The girl invited him.

Lin didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the round table, then sat down.

"Lady Lana, I'll be going now."

"Clem, sit down too."

"But……"

"Let's sit down and talk. There are no outsiders here."

"That's what Lord Lin said!"

Knowing he could no longer refuse, Clem gave up and sat down.

"Here, please have some tea."

At the same time, Lana poured the black tea into the newly prepared teacup, and the black tea poured from the magical thermos was steaming hot as if it had just been brewed.

This is a magical item that can keep the temperature and quality of the beverage inside unchanged for an hour. It is one of Lana's favorite items, and she only uses it when entertaining important guests.

"It's delicious, Lady Lana."

To be honest, Clem couldn't tell whether it tasted good or bad, but since Lana had made it, he assumed it must taste good.

that's the truth.

"Fragrant, mellow, and smooth, with a slight sweet aftertaste after swallowing. I suppose a little honey was added to neutralize the excess bitterness and astringency. However, it was also very careful not to let the sweetness suppress the bitterness and astringency, otherwise there would be no sweet aftertaste in the end. Quite ingenious technique and conception, Your Highness Lana, your craftsmanship is superb."

Lin's praise was just right, and Her Highness the princess smiled sweetly as if she had been tickled.

Clem looked somewhat anxious.

"Lady Lana, I...I..."

He wanted to say something complimentary, but he was tongue-tied and couldn't bring himself to offer the same sincere and natural praise as Lin.

"It's alright, Clem, don't force yourself."

"That's right. After all, even if I said a hundred words of praise, it wouldn't compare to your simple two words, 'It tastes good,' so there's no need to be so nervous."

Lin's teasing and the princess's rosy cheeks, though meant to be reassuring, made Clem feel uneasy.

"Alright, let's stop this small talk."

With these words, Lana and Lin became serious, and Clem also straightened his back under the influence of the atmosphere.

"Regarding the question of freed slaves..."

"You need to build a new church, right? The initial location is west of the capital, where my experimental fields are located. There is a large enough space to build two churches."

"Yes, I did go and investigate, and it is indeed a suitable place. However, there is another problem. If the experimental field fails, it could become a handle for the nobles to criticize. In addition, the guards might cause trouble for disrupting the order of the capital, and Princess Lana might also be implicated."

“I’ve also thought about this problem, so I plan to have my father issue a royal decree. Although it can’t be effectively suppressed indefinitely, it can be completed before the experimental field ends, and according to calculations, the experimental field will also produce satisfactory results by then.”

"So that's how it is, a situation where everyone prospers or suffers together?"

While the two were discussing church matters, Clem suddenly raised his hand in a gesture of sympathy.

His actions brought the conversation to a halt.

"No need for such formality, just say what you want to say."

"Lady Lana and Lord Lin, are you discussing matters concerning slaves?"

"That's obvious, isn't it?"

"Um... why only build two churches? There's a lot of unused land west of the capital, isn't there? Wouldn't it be better to build more..."

"It's unnecessary, and it won't work."

The princess answered him, then continued, "Clem, do you know how many slaves are in the capital right now? I don't know the exact number, but it's around 400. Why this number?"

"Why……?"

"Because this is the maximum number of slaves the nobles in the capital can control. Although those guys are just watching for fun, their real intention is to tell the royal family that if there are too many slaves, the capital will fall into chaos, and that's when they're stepping in to restore order. In this way, not only will the capital be restored to its original order and peace, but no one will speak up for the slaves anymore. Do you understand?"

It was Kobayashi who explained it to him.

"How could this happen!... I'm so sorry, Lady Lana, Lady Lin! I was rude!"

Unable to believe it, Clem angrily slammed his fist on the table and stood up, but quickly realized his rudeness and knelt down on the ground.

"It's alright, Clem. As for why you only built two churches, it's not just because two churches are barely enough, but also because the Axis Church is a minor force and poses no threat to the nobles. But if we built more..."

“It would be seen as a declaration of war. And not only the nobles, but the pro-royalists might also see us as enemies.”

The two of them, working in unison, told him this despairing truth.

Because from beginning to end, in the eyes of the factions, the life and death of the slaves were irrelevant; they were merely tools in the power struggle to suppress their opponents.

"Moreover, the timing of abolishing the system was very bad."

"Lord Lin, do you also not wish to abolish the slave system?"

"Don't get me wrong, little Clem. It's not that I don't want it, but that the timing of its abolition is bad."

The abolition of slavery was an inevitable trend for the future development of the kingdom.

But the timing was wrong.

Normally, the monarchy needs to have absolute control over the kingdom for this system to be implemented smoothly. However, the monarchy's power is waning, and coupled with a lack of funds, it is easy for the monarchy to lose credibility and lose control of the kingdom, leading to the current awkward situation.

However, when you think about how the princess's goal is to destroy the kingdom and then escape to the empire, it suddenly makes perfect sense. After all, this system is a perfect fit for the Blood Emperor, who has already taken complete control of the empire.

"Don't look so sad, little Clem."

Lin helped the kneeling guard to his feet and said, "I'm not saying this to deliberately attack you, but to illustrate the difficulties we're about to face. Otherwise, if we only see the good side and ignore the bad, then destruction is not far away. This applies to both the kingdom and us."

"me……"

"Moreover, the reason I allied with Princess Lana is because she abolished slavery. I imagine that many people who share my views will gather together in the future, which will be beneficial, won't it?"

"Master Lin..."

As expected, he was right. Like Lady Lana, Lord Lin, a priest, was someone who cared about the common people. Soon, Clem had a resolute expression on his face.

Seeing him like this, Lin felt a slight pain in her heart. Although it was a matter of going with the flow, Lin and Princess Lana had still deceived Clem.

Including Princess Lana, there are a total of three heirs to the throne.

The eldest prince is a puppet elected by the nobles, while the second prince is supported by a small number of minor nobles and the pro-king faction. If Princess Lana wants to become a powerful heir, she must make herself a representative of the commoners to gain the support of the commoners, soldiers, and knights. Otherwise, she will not be able to compete with them.

Lin and Princess Lana tacitly refrained from saying these things, as doing so would appear overly calculating and easily provoke resentment.

At the banquet earlier, Lin had hinted at the other party's cult of Axis, and said that he would summon him if he was interested, and Princess Lana responded by accepting the offer.

The two worked together seamlessly for the first time.

“Little Clem, do you know the meaning of ‘no destruction, no construction’? It means that without destroying the old, there can be no new development. The kingdom’s system has become rotten and corrupt. Now is the time for us to rebuild a new system!”

Lin Shenao's words were very obscure and difficult to understand, but Clem knew that since Princess Lana had made this choice, he would firmly follow behind this lord.

"Now let's identify the final enemy."

"...It's an empire."

"It's an empire."

Princess Lana's answer was echoed by both of them, who agreed that the ultimate and most dangerous enemy was the empire controlled by the Blood Emperor.

But that's a long way off.

"To quell external threats, we must first secure internal stability. Let's focus on the kingdom's internal affairs first."

With a light tap of her finger on the table, Lana refilled his empty cup with black tea. Lin said, "First, we need to eliminate the spies that the Empire has planted in the Kingdom, but we can't eliminate them all at once. We need to leave at least one or two alive."

Clem asked curiously, "Why? Wouldn't it be better to just eradicate them all?"

"No, that would alert the Empire. Leaving a few behind would allow us to better transmit false information and make the Empire more convinced."

"Using the pretext of investigating imperial spies, we can also eliminate quite a few members of the aristocratic and pro-monarchist factions. Lord Lin, which faction do you think is suitable?"

"The pro-monarchy faction."

He spoke with absolute certainty.

Clem's mouth twitched, as if he wanted to ask why, since the pro-monarchy faction was on the side of the royal family, but he paused and then shut his mouth, not wanting to interrupt.

However, as if to show him some consideration, the two still offered an explanation.

"There are also people in the pro-king faction who have been bought off by the empire. They are only pro-king on the surface, but in reality, they have long since sided with the empire. Of course, there are also such people in the noble faction. Their goal is to keep the kingdom in a state of division, so there is no need to feel sorry for eliminating such people."

"That's it. Eliminating the pro-royalists will gain the support of the nobles, and the proposal to investigate imperial spies will be implemented smoothly. On the surface, it's about weakening the royal family's power, but in reality, it's a smokescreen for the empire. And with my brother, Marquis Reborn, around, there's no need to worry about an imbalance of power between the two factions."

That's why the two of them were so fearless.

"Does Princess Lana have a suitable candidate?"

"What about Baron Trell? First of all, he is a landless nobleman, and his rank is not high, making him an insignificant figure in the pro-king faction. Most importantly, there are accusations that he is connected with Eight Fingers and is secretly involved in the dirty work of trafficking women and children."